Cheat sheet
- Mis-selling doesn’t leave a receipt. But IRDAI data creates a fingerprint: low persistency + high ombudsman complaints + rising grievances = a pattern you should check before buying.
- If fewer than 50% of an insurer’s policyholders survive to the 5-year mark, something went wrong at the point of sale. At Bharti AXA, only 22 out of 100 policies last 5 years (FY 2025). Shriram Life: 26 out of 100.
- The ombudsman win rate tells you how often the regulator rules against the insurer. Bharti AXA’s complainants won 50.5% of the time in FY 2024-25. For HDFC Life, it was 31.3%.
- Bancassurance-heavy insurers (Canara HSBC, IndiaFirst, PNB MetLife) show a consistent pattern: high early lapses because bank staff are incentivised to sell, not to ensure you keep paying.
- No single metric proves mis-selling. But when three independent datasets (persistency, ombudsman, grievances) all point at the same insurers, that convergence matters.
- All data from IRDAI Annual Report 2024-25 and Insurance Ombudsman Annual Reports (FY 2022-23 through 2024-25).
Bharti AXA 5-Year Survival
FY 2025
Worst in industry
Bharti AXA Ombudsman Win Rate
FY 2024-25
Complainants win half the time
Private Insurers via Banks
FY 2024-25
Half of private new business premium
IRDAI Annual Report 2024-25; Insurance Ombudsman Annual Report 2024-25.
Nobody walks out of an insurance office holding a document that says “you were mis-sold.” There’s no receipt for it. But IRDAI publishes data across multiple reports that, when you put them side by side, create a fingerprint. Low persistency. High ombudsman complaints. Rising grievances. When the same insurer shows up across all three, that tells you something the sales brochure won’t.
Warning sign 1: the 5-year survival test
Persistency at the 61st month (5 years) measures how many policyholders are still paying premiums. If you were sold the right product at the right price, you’d keep paying. When large numbers of people stop, either the product didn’t match their needs or they were pressured into buying something they couldn’t sustain.
| Insurer | Month 13 | Month 61 | Drop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bharti AXA | 67.4% | 22.2% | 45.2 pp |
| Shriram Life | 59.7% | 25.9% | 33.8 pp |
| Future Generali | 66.3% | 34.2% | 32.1 pp |
| IndiaFirst | 68.1% | 42.4% | 25.7 pp |
| Aviva Life | 63.1% | 42.7% | 20.4 pp |
| LIC | 64.1% | 50.3% | 13.8 pp |
| HDFC Life | 81.2% | 52.4% | 28.8 pp |
| Max Life | 83.0% | 52.0% | 31.0 pp |
| SBI Life | 79.7% | 54.8% | 24.9 pp |
| Tata AIA | 83.2% | 56.7% | 26.5 pp |
| ICICI Prudential | 80.4% | 58.8% | 21.6 pp |
IRDAI Annual Report 2024-25, Persistency data.
At Bharti AXA, 67 out of 100 people pay their second premium. By year 5, only 22 remain. That’s a 45 percentage-point collapse. For context, Tata AIA starts at 83 and lands at 57; ICICI Prudential starts at 80 and lands at 59. The drop happens everywhere, but the magnitude tells a story.
What this means for you
Before buying from any insurer, check their 61st-month persistency. If fewer than 50% of policyholders survive 5 years, something in the sales process is producing unhappy customers. You might be different, but the odds suggest otherwise. This data is in every IRDAI Annual Report under “Persistency of Life Insurance Policies.”
Warning sign 2: the ombudsman keeps ruling against them
When a policyholder escalates to the Insurance Ombudsman and wins, it means an independent authority looked at the evidence and found the insurer at fault. The “complainant win rate” tells you how often this happens.
| Insurer | Complaints | Complainant Wins | Insurer Wins | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bharti AXA | 2,770 | 504 | 495 | 50.5% |
| Shriram Life | 550 | 51 | 59 | 46.4% |
| Reliance Life | 820 | 135 | 162 | 45.5% |
| Bajaj Allianz | 998 | 103 | 140 | 42.4% |
| Tata AIA | 628 | 90 | 123 | 42.3% |
| PNB MetLife | 1,060 | 127 | 231 | 35.5% |
| Kotak Life | 555 | 62 | 111 | 35.8% |
| ICICI Prudential | 524 | 56 | 107 | 34.4% |
| LIC | 1,951 | 258 | 488 | 34.6% |
| HDFC Life | 1,320 | 136 | 298 | 31.3% |
Insurance Ombudsman Annual Report 2024-25.
A 50.5% complainant win rate means the ombudsman sides with the policyholder more often than with Bharti AXA. Compare that to HDFC Life (31.3%) or ICICI Prudential (34.4%), where the insurer is found right roughly two-thirds of the time.
Volume matters too. Bharti AXA received 2,770 ombudsman complaints in FY 2024-25 with 503 still unresolved at year-end. That backlog is the highest of any life insurer. For scale, ICICI Prudential had 524 complaints and only 81 unresolved.
Highest unresolved backlog in industry
Insurance Ombudsman Annual Reports FY 2022-23 through 2024-25.
What this means for you
If your insurer has a high ombudsman win rate against them, it means complaints like yours have a track record of being upheld. That’s useful to know if you ever need to escalate. But it also tells you something about the insurer’s sales and claims practices. Check the Ombudsman Scorecard for full details.
Warning sign 3: grievances that keep rising
Grievances are complaints filed directly with the insurer. Unlike ombudsman complaints (which involve an independent authority), these are internal. An insurer with rising grievances year after year has a structural problem, not an isolated incident.
| Insurer | 2019-20 | 2021-22 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shriram Life | 523 | 918 | 1,325 | 2,869 | +449% |
| Bajaj Allianz | 1,572 | 2,008 | 3,225 | 3,827 | +143% |
| Max Life | 3,052 | 2,947 | 4,282 | 5,165 | +69% |
| HDFC Life | 4,232 | 3,417 | 4,369 | 4,744 | +12% |
IRDAI Annual Reports, Grievances data FY 2019-20 through 2024-25.
Shriram Life’s grievances went from 523 to 2,869 in five years. That’s not a one-off; it’s a trajectory. The question for you is whether these numbers are growing because the insurer is selling more policies (volume growth) or because something in the sales or servicing process is broken. For Shriram Life, their lapse ratio (12.62% in FY 2025, highest in the industry) and persistency (25.9% at 61st month, second worst) suggest the latter.
What this means for you
Rising grievance counts alone don’t prove mis-selling. A fast-growing insurer will naturally get more complaints. But when grievances rise alongside deteriorating persistency and high ombudsman complaints, the convergence points to a sales-quality problem. Check the Grievance Tracker for 12 years of insurer-by-insurer data.
The convergence table: where all three signals meet
Each metric on its own has limitations. Persistency can be affected by economic downturns. Ombudsman complaints can rise if more people know about the process. Grievances scale with policy count. But when the same insurer appears in the bottom tier across all three independent datasets, the explanation shifts from “bad luck” to “structural problem.”
| Insurer | 61st-Month Persistency | Ombudsman Win Rate | Grievance Trend | Lapse Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bharti AXA | 22.2% (worst) | 50.5% (worst) | 3,892 (80 unresolved) | 4.31% |
| Shriram Life | 25.9% (2nd worst) | 46.4% | 2,869 (+449% since 2019) | 12.62% (worst) |
| IndiaFirst | 42.4% | 38.0% | 1,803 (12 unresolved) | 2.78% |
| Future Generali | 34.2% (3rd worst) | Data limited | Moderate volume | Data limited |
IRDAI Annual Report 2024-25; Insurance Ombudsman Annual Reports.
Compare that to the other end of the table:
ICICI Prudential’s 58.8% 5-year persistency means nearly 6 in 10 policyholders are still paying after 5 years. Their ombudsman complainant win rate is 34.4%, meaning the insurer is usually found in the right. That’s a very different profile from Bharti AXA’s 22.2% persistency and 50.5% win rate against them.
The bancassurance problem
Banks brought in 49.66% of private life insurers’ individual new business premium in FY 2024-25 (IRDAI Annual Report 2024-25). When a bank relationship manager sells you insurance alongside your loan or fixed deposit, they’re incentivised on volume, not on whether you’ll keep the policy for 20 years.
The data confirms this. Insurers heavily reliant on bancassurance channels show higher early lapse ratios:
- Canara HSBC Life (bancassurance-dependent): 5.41% lapse ratio in FY 2025, though persistency has improved to 57.1% at 61st month
- PNB MetLife (bancassurance-heavy): 4.16% lapse ratio, 50.6% persistency at 61st month, 69,100 policies lapsed worth ₹9,702 crore
- IndiaFirst (India First Life, associated with Bank of Baroda): lapse ratio improved from 28.84% in 2013-14 to 2.78% in 2024-25, but persistency at 42.4% remains below industry average
What this means for you
If a bank employee is selling you life insurance along with a loan, home loan, or fixed deposit, treat it with extra scepticism. Ask for the benefit illustration document. Check the insurer’s persistency ratio. If 40% or more of their policyholders quit before year 5, the problem may not be them; it may be how the policy was sold.
How to use this before you buy
You can run your own three-point check on any insurer:
- 61st-month persistency (IRDAI Annual Report, available online): Below 50% is a red flag. Below 35% is serious.
- Ombudsman win rate (check the Gyansurance Ombudsman Scorecard): Above 45% means complainants win nearly half the time. That’s not normal.
- Grievance trajectory (check the Grievance Tracker): If grievances have risen 50%+ over five years without a matching increase in policies sold, something is off.
No single metric proves mis-selling. But when all three point at the same insurer, you’re looking at a pattern, not a coincidence. For a complete view, the Insurer Scorecard combines claims, grievances, ombudsman, solvency, and persistency data for all major life insurers.
“The distrust often comes because insurance in India is mainly ‘sold’ by friends or relatives rather than ‘purchased’ scientifically, leading people into unsuitable products like ULIPs where the returns are low and the insurance cover is also inadequate. Considering the actual insurance needs of an individual is of paramount importance.”
— Purushottam Bedekar, Former General Manager, SBI, CFP & QPFP
Frequently asked questions
What counts as mis-selling in life insurance?
Mis-selling happens when an insurance product is sold through misrepresentation, incomplete information, or undue pressure. Common forms include: promising returns that aren’t guaranteed, not explaining policy exclusions, selling ULIPs as “fixed deposits,” bundling insurance with loans, and recommending products based on the agent’s commission rather than your needs. IRDAI doesn’t publish a direct “mis-selling count” but persistency, ombudsman, and grievance data serve as proxies.
Which insurer has the worst mis-selling indicators?
Based on FY 2024-25 IRDAI data, Bharti AXA shows the highest convergence of mis-selling indicators: lowest 61st-month persistency (22.2%), highest ombudsman complainant win rate (50.5%), and 503 unresolved ombudsman complaints (the biggest backlog in the industry). Shriram Life ranks second with 25.9% 5-year persistency and the highest lapse ratio (12.62%). These are data points, not verdicts; they indicate patterns in the sales process, not necessarily fraud.
Does low persistency always mean mis-selling?
Not always. Low persistency can result from economic hardship (people can’t afford premiums), product complexity (buyers didn’t understand what they purchased), or life changes. But when low persistency is combined with high ombudsman complaints and rising grievances at the same insurer, the explanation shifts from individual circumstances to systemic sales-quality issues.
Is buying insurance through a bank risky?
Not inherently, but bancassurance channels carry specific risks. Bank staff are often incentivised on sales volume, not policy persistency. IRDAI data shows that bancassurance-heavy insurers like Canara HSBC Life and PNB MetLife had higher early lapse ratios historically. In FY 2024-25, banks brought in 49.66% of private life insurers’ individual new business premium. If you’re buying through a bank, insist on the benefit illustration, read the policy document yourself, and don’t let the insurance purchase be tied to a loan approval.
Where can I check these numbers myself?
Persistency data: IRDAI Annual Report (published annually, available on irdai.gov.in). Ombudsman data: Insurance Ombudsman Annual Reports (available on cioins.co.in). Grievance data: IRDAI Annual Reports and IGMS portal. The Gyansurance Insurer Scorecard compiles all of these into a single comparison view.
Related data stories
Methodology
Data sources: IRDAI Annual Report 2024-25 (persistency, grievances, lapse data, distribution channels); Insurance Ombudsman Annual Reports FY 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25 (complaint volumes, outcomes, win rates).
Mis-selling proxy methodology: No single IRDAI dataset directly measures mis-selling. This analysis uses three independent proxies: 61st-month persistency (product-fit indicator), ombudsman complainant win rate (dispute outcome indicator), and grievance trends (service and sales quality indicator). Cross-dataset convergence is used to identify patterns rather than drawing conclusions from any single metric.
Limitations: Persistency and grievance figures are not normalised by policy count, which disadvantages larger insurers in absolute numbers. Ombudsman win rates don’t distinguish between claims disputes and sales disputes. Free-look cancellation data (the most direct mis-selling measure) is not published by IRDAI at the insurer level.
CSR methodology: All Claim Settlement Ratios on this page use the IRDAI Handbook formula: Claims Paid ÷ (Claims Paid + Claims Repudiated + Claims Rejected), by policy count. Pending claims and unclaimed amounts are excluded from the denominator. Source: IRDAI Handbook on Indian Insurance Statistics.
Related reading: IRDAI has launched a commission data probe — what the ₹60,800-crore commission bill means for the mis-selling problem.
Related reading: Insurance Reforms India 2026: What’s Changing for Policyholders — IRDAI’s distribution reform paper and the mis-selling crackdown explained.
Related reading: IRDAI’s mis-selling draft: what changes at the counter, and what doesn’t
Related reading: The Public Insurance Registry, explained for policyholders — IRDAI has proposed publishing agent track records to buyers: persistency, complaints, free-look cancellations and blacklisting.